a-stay, advb. phr. Naut.
(əˈsteɪ)
[a prep.1 + stay n.]
A phrase used of the anchor when, in heaving in, the cable is at an acute angle, so as to have a position similar to that of one of the ship's stays. Cf. a-peak.
| 1867 in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. |